Woot! 4th chapter is up.

It was the sharp clanging of bells that had woken him, and he held himself absolutely still, waiting for his memory to catch up with him, to tell him just why he was in a bed rather than on a comfortable pallet on the floor. There were no drafts, either – something he found distinctly odd.

Then, as memory found him, he felt the alien, yet strangely familiar touch of Gryphon's mind on his.

:Good morning, sleepy one.:

"You're altogether too awake," Kev mumbled, rolling out of bed and hunting for a decent pair of leggings to pull on.

:In the closet,: Gryphon urged.

Kev followed the Companion's direction and opened it up. Inside were a set of grey tunics and breeches that looked like they'd barely fit him.

He pulled one out and eyed it distastefully.

"How am I supposed to squeeze myself into this?"

He felt someone looking through his eyes.

:It does look a little small, but you'll never know unless you try them.:

Against his better judgement, Kev pulled the tunic over his head, waiting the whole time for the seams to snap. When they didn't and the shirt didn't feel like it was attempting to break his rib cage – he looked down at himself and his mouth dropped open.

:Just what I thought,: remarked that little voice in the back of his head. :They've finally gotten those mages to do something useful for a change. No more waiting for uniforms that fit – they're all magicked to match their wearer. Brilliant, isn't it?:

In his haze of amazement, Keighven found himself forced to agree it was.

:Now get those breeches on and get outside. I'll bet Jos is waiting for you.:

He pulled on his pants quickly and opened the door to find Joselyn, her black hair pulled back into a series of braids that seemed a touch too delicate for her face. Seeing the ease with which she wore the hairstyle though, Kev found himself forced to rethink his immediate opinion. It was probably more stable than it seemed.

"Ready then?" she asked, smiling at him. "I figured someone would have remembered to have an extra set of Grays in the closet for you – I'm glad they did!"

Seeing his still dumbfounded expression, Joselyn attempted to take pity on him. "The old Grays used to be hand made by tailors, and recycled among the Trainees, but these newer ones are much easier on everyone. Not that they don't still get cycled – and they are still Collegium property – but it's pretty much on a one-size fits all basis now. The mages worked a bit of a spell on 'em so that they'll fit damn near anyone who belongs in Grays. They don't fit anyone else, and I'll be damned if I know how they pulled that one off."

Kev didn't attempt a reply. All this talk of grey and magic, clothing and mages was making his head reel.

"Come on then, let's be down for breakfast before all the good stuff gets eaten up."

He was left to trail after her, pardonably annoyed with the overenthusiastic attitude. Quite possibly even more annoyed than he'd been with Gryphon earlier…

The dining hall was just beginning to grow crowded as stragglers trailed in and cheerfully began complaining about the early hour.

Joselyn seated herself at a table near the far end of the hall with others also wearing the feared white uniform. She didn't seem to expect Keighven to follower her, so he chose a deserted table and eyed the food laid out on it with some curiosity.

:It's not poisoned, if that's what's making you hesitate.:

"It isn't," Kev mumbled. Then he switched to mind speech, feeling much more comfortable talking in his head to Gryphon than seeming to be having a discussion with a bread roll.

:I'm not used to eating before I exercise,: he grumbled.

:Get up earlier then,: the Companion advised.

Keighven sent a rude message back in return, earning himself a rather surprised laugh. He stared at the roll in his hand for another long moment before biting into it. There was a slightly different texture to this bread than there was to bread he was used to having. And it wasn't ash-blackened or overcooked, too little flour or over-seasoned. It was good, and he finished it off quickly, shooting a longing glance at the basket filled with more.

:You can have another. They make enough.:

Hmn. Kev pulled out another roll and ate that one too. By the time he was half-way through his third, he noticed a set of wide-eyed children on his left, watching him.

Feeling acutely embarrassed, but not willing to show it, Kev finished off the roll and only then turned to look at the pair of boys watching him. They looked very alike – brothers, he supposed. The one closest to him had a heart-shaped face, and both of them sported matching black hair and pale blue-grey eyes. There was a stubbornness written across both faces, and despite their rather diminutive size, he guessed they were closer to being fifteen or so rather than the elven years they appeared to possess.

"Who are you?" he asked when it became clear they intended only to stare at him.

"Jem," the close one said. His deep voice confirmed Keighven's suspicion that they were older than they looked. Jem nodded towards the boy behind him. "This is m'brother, Nadav."

Keighven nodded.

"You new here?" Jem asked. His voice was neutral, so Keighven couldn't tell what he meant – if it was a challenge or a simple inquiry.

Cautiously, in case it was the former, he replied in the affirmative.

Jem grinned. The smile took his face from mini-adult (the way Marti's had been) to a true adolescent.

"Great!" he exclaimed, sounding truly enthusiastic. "Who Chose you?"

"Gryphon –"

"Ah, the trouble-maker in chief of the Companions," Jem remarked knowingly. "Kyrith's had more than his share of trouble keeping that prankster under wraps, or so Father tells us."

"Father?"

:We're Randall's," Jem explained. "Dav's a page here, but I got Chosen." He looked especially pleased by that pronouncement.

"By whom?" Kev asked, guessing it to be an expected reply.

"Kadin," Jem boasted.

:That's one of the true fighters of the Companion's herd,: Gryphon put in. Keighven was hardly surprised at the Companion's audacity to assumed he'd allow snooping in the back of his head. :This one must give Featherfire no end of trouble.:

"Fighter, then?" Keighven asked.

Jem looked surprised. "You know Kadin?"

"Not myself," Keighven admitted, "but Gryphon knows everyone and everything around this place like the back of his hoof, so he knows what that means. And," he added when Jem looked slightly less than suitably impressed, "he's also told me that you must be quite the handful for the weaponsmaster. Perhaps, if I ever get a free mark, we can spar together."

:I hope you're not making that promise lightly. Jem will take you up on it,: Gryphon warned.

:I wouldn't have offered if I didn't mean it,: Kev shot back, a trifle irked that Gryphon would think he'd baby Jem. After all, he'd seen younger boys get cut to ribbons in the Collegium he'd come from.

"What are your Gifts?" Jem asked, his interest obvious.

"Gifts?" For a moment, Kev drew a blank, before remembering what Gryphon had told him a day or two ago. Almost verbatim, he recited, "Mindspeaker of mid-ability, a smattering of Empathy, no Mage-gift, but strong Fetching."

Jem grinned. "Volatile Fetcher?"

"What?"

"Firestarter?"

Kev recalled what Gryphon had said about that, and shook his head. He expected Jem's broad grin to vanish, but instead it just diminished slightly.

"Oh well," the boy said. "Can't have it all. I'm a Firestarter, and I'm just beginning to be able to work mindspeech with people. Talking with Kadin is pretty easy, but it's harder with people."

:Sometime, you really will have to explain this all to me,: Kev growled to Gryphon.

:After you wear yourself out against Featherfire, I will,: Gryphon promised.

"Well, that's all very fascinating," Keighven said, slowly inching away from Jem, "but I have things that need doing shortly. I'm pleased to have met you, Jem…"

Joselyn materialized at his elbow. "Heyla, Jem," she greeted. "I hope you'll pardon me while I steal Keighven here. Lance still needs to give him a schedule."

Jem laughed, and Keighven was again surprised at how adult the boy sounded when he said, "Then we wouldn't want to be wasting time, would we? Lance is a formidable opponent indeed when things are not all to his liking. I suppose I'll see you sometime soon, Keighven."

Jem stood up and his brother, Nadav, did as well. Together, the two of them walked out and for some reason Keighven had an odd feeling. To make sure it wasn't just himself being paranoid – or something like that – he checked with Gryphon.

:That little interview was entirely for Nadav's benefit, wasn't it?:

Gryphon sounded surprised when he replied, :I hadn't known you'd noticed. But, since you ask, yes it was. Nadav is mute. He couldn't ask any questions of you, and from what I gather, he's terribly shy as well. Jem's the more outgoing of the two by far, and I still wouldn't call him an extrovert. It's only by virtue of you being a Herald Trainee that he felt comfortable enough to approach you.:

Keighven let that stew in his head while Joselyn led him back down into the heart of the Collegium.

At a door, she stopped and knocked. The old man who had opened the door yesterday, opened it again today.

"Back, Joselyn?" He seemed to think it funny for some reason.

"With a vengeance," Jos answered, grinning. "Have you got Keighven's schedule made up then?"

"Aye, and it's filled to the brim with lost of things that should have the poor lad spinning in circles by nightfall of the third day."

"Havens forbid! Well, let's see what you've put him in for…" Joselyn took the paper Lance offered and looked closely at it. "Weapons in the morning – good. Writing, figuring and history in the afternoons, open chores in the early evenings and…" she trailed off. "Is it really necessary to have two weapon's practices a day?"

"Featherfire requested it special for him," Lance answered, jerking his chin at Keighven.

"Well, if that's what Feather wants," Joselyn said, doubtfully. "Anyway," she continued, back to her bright and bubbly self in an instant, "we're going down to the salle, so we can talk about it."

Author's Note: Well, it's a trifle shorter than by chapters have been thus far, but I hope you'll forgive me. I'll work up a long one, I promise! Or, medium long, anyway. Reviews are loved!!